


Flower Power

by JustAnotherStarkid



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Florist AU, M/M, Meet-Cute, One Shot, background cannon relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 21:06:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10670760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherStarkid/pseuds/JustAnotherStarkid
Summary: If you had asked Nico this morning if he wanted to go to work. He would have said no, no way in hell.If you had asked Nico this evening if he was glad he went to work. He would have said no again, but this time, he would be lying.





	Flower Power

Hazel really owed Nico big time. He fought the urge to look at the clock again – _it hasn’t even been a minute? Really?_ _–_ and, instead, settled for pulling out his phone. It was practically slave labour, really. How, even though it was Persephone and Hazel’s flower shop, Nico was doing the most hours. This wasn’t even supposed to be his shift! It was Hazel’s! But she just pulled her puppy eyes on dad, and batted her eyes at Persephone, and then it was Nico that had to sit in the stuffy flower shop all day while she went to the fair with her new boyfriend, Frank.

The bell on the door rang as three guys about Nico’s age entered the store. Grumpily, Nico put his phone away to watch the boys as they moved around the store. He may hate being here, but hell if he wasn’t going to be good at his job.

The first guy, a blonde with stylish glasses, made his way straight to the orchids. The second guy (dark hair, tanned skin, surfer vibe), was a regular, named Percy. He often came in and gushed about his girlfriend, Annabeth, while Nico or Hazel helped him choose which flowers he would surprise her with. The girl herself had come in a few times, once handing a list to Persephone tell her that Percy was a ‘hopeless seaweed brain’, but Nico could see she loved him just as much as he did her, and she left with some lilies as a gift for after his swim meet.

The third guy was another blonde, with stunning blue eyes. He stood by the door, as if they might need to make a quick getaway. For a few minutes, he stood there, looking around, before he caught Nico’s eye, and was suddenly taking out his phone for something to do.

“I promise the florist won’t bite you, Will,” the guy wearing glasses said as he eyed the purple orchids, reaching out to inspect the one closest to him.

The man by the door, Will, apparently, looked scandalized. His eyes quickly darted to Nico and back before putting his phone away and walking to stand with Percy by the peonies, looking back at Nico every few seconds to check if he was still watching him.

Nico couldn’t help but smile, however much he tried to make it less obvious. The man wearing glasses shuffled a few steps to the left, appraising a set of red and white orchids against the purple ones, before finally seeming to settle on the former. Satisfied, he brought a set over to the counter, and Nico flashed him his patented customer service smile.

“Just those ones?” he asked as he began to ring up his purchase.

Glasses nodded, and gave a friendly smile before turning to yell at his friends. “Hurry up, Perce! Honestly, we could be here all day, and you still wouldn’t know what to pick.”

Percy looked over his shoulder at Glasses before turning back to the flowers in front of him.  He had moved onto the yellow and orange marigolds, and didn’t appear to be any closer to making up his mind. Nico handed Glasses his change, and got up from behind the counter to help.

“Hey, Percy. What can I get for you today?” he asked politely. Percy looked up and smiled as a way of greeting, while Will fixed him with a serious stare. Nico tried not to laugh at how awkward the man was being. It wasn’t kind.

“Nico! Today is Annabeth’s final exam. I wanted something to say ‘good luck’, or ‘you did your best’ for when she gets out-”

“In ten minutes,” Glasses interrupted.

Percy rolled his eyes at him before turning back to the marigolds, and then back to Nico. “I like these ones. What do they mean?” he asked.

Nico thought about it for a moment. “Marigolds are associated with the sun, and often represent passion and creativity,” he said, trying to think about how he could tie that into passing an exam in order to convince Percy to buy them. He tended not to buy the flowers unless he thought there was a meaning behind them, which, as a boyfriend, was ridiculously cute, but as a florist, mildly exhausting.

“You know a lot about flowers,” Will noted from behind Percy. Nico laughed softly, and shook his head before fixing him with a look.

“Well, I am a florist,” Nico said. Will blushed a little, and ducked his head. Percy shot up as if struck by lighting, and turned to Nico excitedly.

“I’ll get those ones, the mirabelles,” he said, pointing to the marigolds. Nico refrained from rolling his eyes or correcting him, counting himself lucky he had settled on a flower so quickly.

Glasses, from across the shop, looked confused. “I don’t understand – I thought you said the flowers had to mean something,” he said.

Percy looked at him like he was stupid. “They do! They represent her creative designs, and her passion for architecture. Which is _why_ she will pass the exam.”

“Okay, man,” Glasses said. He clearly didn’t want to get into it, but the look on his face was fond nonetheless. Nico grabbed two handfuls of the marigolds, and took them to the table along the back wall to wrap them up. He chose a turquoise paper to contrast with the golden orange of the petals, and passed them to Percy after he paid for them.

Nico turned to his final customer.

“What would you like?” he asked, phoney customer service smile once more in place.

Will looked from Percy to the man in glasses, and seemed shocked at being addressed before smiling sweetly, and scratching the back of his head. “Umm… What’s your favourite flower?”

Customers often asked for his opinion, and he would usually suggest something simple, like roses, or tulips or lilies, since Persephone always ordered the most of those. But that wasn’t what Will had asked him, and he was still mad at Persephone for giving him this shift. His favourite flower easy – ever since his step-mom had gotten this god forsaken store, there had only been one flower that Nico actually liked.

“The red cannas,” he said, smiling softly. They had been particularly lovely this season, and Nico had been more than a little upset that he wasn’t allowed to take any home with him, at least without paying for them, which he refused to do. He should get _something_ out of working in this evil little shop. At least Will’s girlfriend would get to enjoy them. He pointed them out to Will, and the man looked between Nico and the flowers a few more times, before presenting a credit card.

“One of those cards too, thanks,” he said.

Nico nodded, giving him the card and a pen, before taking the cannas over to the workbench. He wrapped them up in white tissue paper, fluffing out the corners until he was satisfied. When he came back, he traded them for the credit card, and put the transaction through. Once he was done, he handed Will the receipt, and thanked the group before saying goodbye. Percy and the man in glasses made their way to the door, but Will remained in front of Nico, blushing red.

“Was there something else I could do for you?” Nico asked.

“I… ahh… umm,” Will stuttered.

Nico was confused, but tried to keep a kind look on his face as Will refused to meet his eyes. The guy was awkward, but he seemed sweet, and Nico didn’t want to upset him.

Percy and Glasses seemed to find their friend incredibly hilarious; twin looks of joy lighting up their faces as they watched.

Glasses began subtly thwacking Percy’s upper arm, only to give him an affronted look after he was elbowed in the side. He rubbed the sore spot sulkily.

Will held out the flowers to Nico. Nico’s heart skipped a beat.

“For me…?” he asked.

Will could only nod.

Nico felt his stomach flip, and he smiled, ducking his head to try and capture the embarrassed man’s attention to show him he appreciated the gesture.

“Thank you,” he said.

Will looked up at him quickly, returning the smile before turning and practically running from the store, his friends quickly following. Percy waved as he closed the door behind them. Alone now,

Nico felt as though he could hear his heart beating in ears – a customer had actually bought him flowers. That had never happened to him before. It was like the beginning of a movie, he thought, before something finally occurred to him, and he felt his heart sink.

He hadn’t gotten the guy’s number. Not even a name, really; just one he’d overheard from a conversation he’d been eavesdropping on.

He fiddled morosely with the white tissue paper, and brought the flowers up to his nose so that the petals brushed gently across his skin. He sighed deeply, inhaling the sweet scent of them.

Maybe he could ask Percy the next time he came in. Or would that be too weird? He didn’t really know Percy that well, apart from what he knew about Percy’s penchant for buying his girlfriend flowers. They weren’t exactly friends…

The bell rang again to let him know more customers had entered the store, and he looked up quickly, as if broken from a trance.

He ducked into the back room quickly to set aside his new flowers, and then moved back to the front to aid the kind-faced elderly woman who had entered. He shook his head a little to clear it, and pasted back on his customer service smile.

Flowers, and the boys who buy them, would have to wait until he was off the clock. Say what you want about Persephone, but at least she paid him well.

About an hour later, he was finally able to pack up the shop for the day and go home.

He decided to take the cannas home.

Hazel and Persephone were sitting on the couch – a bowl of popcorn jammed between their legs, and one of their favourite tv shows playing on the screen. Hazel looked up to greet him, and smiled when she saw the flowers.

“Oh, good! The house needed a bit more colour,” she said chirpily. “You should put them in the dining room.”

Nico rolled his eyes, possessively holding the flowers closer to his chest as he took of his shoes and left them by the door. Persephone eyed him over the couch as Hazel got up to grab a vase.

“No, these are mine,” he told them.

“You better not be trying to steal my flowers, young man!” Persephone warned, throwing a small handful of popcorn in his direction. He held his flowers behind him protectively to save them from the buttery projectiles.

“No – it was the strangest thing: a customer bought them. Like, he chose them, had them wrapped, and paid for them… and then he gave them to me,” he explained.

Persephone raised an eyebrow, looking between him and the flowers with an odd look on her face. She laughed, giving him a knowing smile, before turning her eyes back to the TV.

Hazel wasn’t so easily satiated. “What did he look like?” she demanded immediately. “Was he cute? What did he say? Was it super romantic? Aren’t those your favourite? How did he know? Has he been stalking you? That’s not okay Nico, you should throw them away.”

Nico gave her a dry look, and went to his room. Wisely, she didn’t follow him.

He looked around his room thoughtfully for the best spot, and then decided that they would probably look best on his nightstand, where the light could hit them better. He started to unwrap them carefully, only to pause when he realised he had to go back outside to grab the vase.

He sighed, gently putting the flowers down on his bed before sneaking back out to grab the vase Hazel had left on the coffee table. They both noticed him, of course, but decided not to tease him this time. A smart move.

Back in his room, he continued unwrapping the flowers, only to stop as a small card fell out.

Oh, he thought. He had forgotten about that.

He put the flowers in the vase, and spent a little too long arranging them before turning his attention back to the card. He really hoped it had his number. Nico took a deep breath, and flipped the card open.

He almost pumped both fists in the air. Yes!

There, in rushed, messy handwriting, were ten lovely digits, and a messily drawn heart, along with a message.

_Would you like to go out on a date next Saturday?  
            Will  <3_

  
Yes!

**Author's Note:**

> Fluffy one shots are good for the soul. If you like it maybe tell me why in the comments :)


End file.
